


Confined Spaces

by OnlySlightlyObsessed1



Series: Occupational Hazards [1]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Jim's POV, M/M, POV Outsider, POV Third Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 00:49:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16821817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlySlightlyObsessed1/pseuds/OnlySlightlyObsessed1
Summary: It was the kind of thing Jim had just assumed would already have come up.





	Confined Spaces

**Author's Note:**

> I want to write more in this universe but it's all the same self indulgent fluff. This bit stands well enough on it's own though, I think.

They were stuck in a cave. Of course they were stuck in a cave, it was a nice cave, so said Starfleet, but a cave. The whole crew from the shuttle, and if they were understanding right over the communicators, there was another team somewhere in the same system, a medical transport.

They stumbled on them before Jim realized they were even going the right way, three people, reclining relatively comfortably in piles of blankets, working on PADDs. One of them looked up at their entrance. To Jim’s surprise his whole face lit up as Spock brushed past him to enter the protected cavern first.

“Spock!”

Jim, and he was sure his entire team alongside him, stared in shock. The man who’d spoken had pushed to his feet and Spock had gone straight to him and practically melted into his arms. The woman sitting in the far corner smiled a greeting.

“You must be the Enterprise team. Glad you found us. I’m Christine Chapel, this is Geoffrey M’Benga, that’s Leonard McCoy,” and then there was a hint of a laugh in her voice, “obviously.”

“Nice to meet you,” M’Benga said.

Jim glanced at Spock and McCoy. They were still wrapped up in each other. Introductions, he had to do introductions.

“Ah, pleased to meet you all as well. I’m James T. Kirk, that’s Spock,”

M’Benga looked amused, “We figured.”

Jim was too overwhelmed to respond so he continued, “this is Nyota Uhura, Montgomery Scott, Hikaru Sulu, Janice Rand, and Pavel Chekov. We have food, we were warned about the transportation difficulties on this planet.”

Chapel smiled pleasantly, “That’s good. You’re a big team, we’ve got a bit extra but certainly not enough for all of you.” She coughed pointedly. “You’re welcome to sit down. There’s plenty of cushions. Our _Chief Medical Officer, Doctor McCoy, Lieutenant Commander,_ wants to compare our team’s briefings.”

McCoy and Spock separated finally.

“Sorry,” McCoy said, but he didn’t look it, not with the smile stretching across his face. Jim and the rest of the team moved further into the open area as he waved them in. “Captain Kirk, right?” He was distracted for a moment by the strangeness of seeing Spock settling down in the same pile of blankets that McCoy had been occupying and raising an eyebrow at Uhura’s accusatory silent mouthing of questions.

“That’s me,” he said.

McCoy stuck out a hand, and Jim shook it automatically, and they both sat. McCoy sat next Spock, close enough that their sides from their shoulders to their knees were touching. Jim tried not to stare.

“We’re here on a routine transport mission, scheduled to take three of this planet’s days, we’ve got a shipment of various vaccines and we’re stopping one day each at three major cities to do clinics, then we’re back to Starbase eleven for our next pick-up and further instructions. With the storm like this, I’d say we’re looking at a delay of at least two more days local time. Is your mission urgent?” McCoy said.

He had a slight southern accent, and somehow managed to make holding hands with Spock look normal, but he seemed pleasant enough. Though the casual conversation felt distinctly odd. McCoy’s team were listening politely while still mostly paying attention to their PADDs, Spock was pretending there was nothing strange about him draping himself all over McCoy, and for their part, Jim’s entire team was silently hanging on to every word they said and watching Spock like hawks.

“Not particularly, we’re here on research. Starfleet sent us a list of geological sites to check out, along with the general orders to play nice at being diplomats. I hardly think anyone will blame us being late considering the weather,” he said. They’d address whatever was going on with Spock after Starfleet business.

McCoy frowned. It was disagreement, not displeasure.

“Don’t be so sure, I’m not looking forward to groveling with the civic leaders about our push back with the clinics. This is my third time visiting here, the weather does this every couple days, the locals barely notice, and they don’t seem to really understand why we make such a fuss about it.” The smile came back as he finished his thought.

Spock chimed in for the first time, “Will your vaccines survive the wait?”

Then McCoy smiled at Spock again and Jim almost felt embarrassed to watch for the naked look of adoration there.

“They’ll be fine. They’re in cryogenic tubes,” he told Spock, then turned back to Kirk. “We left them with our shuttle craft outside, the opposite way y’all came in, I think. Is yours by the other entrance?”

“I think so,” Jim said, and that was the conclusion of Starfleet business. He hoped the confusion wasn’t showing on his face as he watched Spock lean further into McCoy and then shift to rest his head on his shoulder.

He failed, apparently, because Spock met his eyes and said calmly, “Doctor McCoy is my husband.”

Jim saw McCoy roll his eyes and didn’t bother looking back to see his own team’s reaction. The various muttering was confirmation. He did spare a glance at Chapel and M’Benga, who were staring at Spock like he’d grown a second head.

“You know,” Jim said lightly, mostly teasing but also mildly irritated, “you might have mentioned that at any point in the three years we’ve been working together.”

“My apologies,” Spock said, also partially teasing, partially sincere, “the subject never came up.”

McCoy’s team were openly glaring at Spock then, and Jim didn’t know how to rectify that situation, if they kept it up it would be an awkward couple of days together. He wasn’t sure how read McCoy’s glare either, it seemed equally likely to land on anyone in the room and Jim really hoped it wasn’t him. It lighted on his team briefly and they backed down, and it landed on Spock. Jim’s stomach twisted, but Spock seemed unphased.

“You know, this is why you don’t have any friends,” McCoy said, and his glare softened as he pulled Spock to be laying across his lap. Spock went willingly and no one on Jim’s team was making any pretense to be watching with anything less than rapt attention.

Spock raised an eyebrow. “Jim is my friend,” he said.

Before Jim could express his indignation, (what kind of friend left off the detail of their marital status for three years of constant contact?), McCoy had raised his own eyebrow and responded in kind.

“Not for much longer if you keep on like this,” McCoy said and transitioned easily into an apologetic smile aimed at the rest of the room. “I’m sorry about him, he was raised by Vulcans.” Then rolled his eyes at the ceiling and said, “God bless your mother, she tries.” He was easily one of the most expressive people Jim had ever met.

They couldn’t turn out the lights, the bioluminescent bacteria in the rocks glowed dimly but consistently. The cave stayed lit with a warm pinkish yellow glow. They could shut off the tricorders and the PADDs and agree to sleep for whatever period of time passed for night on this planet. Jim could have asked McCoy, or even Spock probably, how long that would be, but his pride was a little sore from the whole meeting Spock’s secret husband thing.

Honestly, it was still weird. Spock clung, there was no other word for it, and McCoy petted. With the tricorders turned off and everyone off the PADDs for the time being it was still plenty bright enough to see how McCoy was tucked up facing Spock, his face completely hidden in Spock’s chest and the blankets, Jim wasn’t sure how he could possibly breathe, and the reciprocal way Spock curled around him, nose and mouth buried in McCoy’s hair. Professionals they might be, but they had also clearly been missing each other. However reasonably restrained they were being under the circumstances, Jim knew the significance of the way Spock kept touching McCoy’s fingers.

In their place Jim figured he wouldn’t be able to wait for a moment alone either. Though they probably wouldn’t get one, it occurred to him. Neither of their teams were on leave, and this was a predictable, but chance meeting. Enterprise had another three years together cumulatively, and it was likely that they’d all reup their contracts afterward. Research and Exploration teams were career track postings really. If McCoy was a Lieutenant Commander with his own team then he was just as much a career officer as Spock, and was certainly on his own contract. Starfleet wasn’t really organized with married couples in mind, who knew how often they got to see each other. He turned away from them then, no point in invading their privacy any further.

After two days of close quarters the storm was clearing, and they began to pack their supplies, ready to make the trek back to their respective shuttles. He rolled his thermoblanket a little tighter and watched Spock and McCoy. If they could have been packing while holding hands they would have done it, he was sure. They wouldn’t even get to say goodbye privately, not if they made their exit by the book. Jim wasn’t sure if he was reading either of them correctly but McCoy’s cheerfulness seemed more forced, and Spock’s ever-present neutral expression was more withdrawn. Jim didn’t like it.

Uhura caught his eye. She inclined her head ever so briefly their way and made a sympathetic face. He wasn’t the only one loathe to rip apart the happy couple. He took stock of his team. They were almost packed, efficient. McCoy’s team was less so. They’d been in the respite cave longer, they’d accumulated more stuff and there were only the three of them.

“Chekov,” Jim ordered, and the kid snapped to attention. “Help medical with their things. Sulu will tie your bag.”

The two of them were basically packed. A few minutes later and the cave was nearly clear, only the large insulating floor mats that would be rolled up after they cleared their belongings. Jim made a decision and managed to catch Chapel’s eye, hoping she’d understand what he was doing.

“Spock, you stay here and roll up the mats, I’ll take your bag, catch up with us when you’re done. Everyone else, let’s roll,” he said. Chapel gave him a small smile and swooped in to take McCoy’s bag.

“Meet you at the shuttle, Doctor,” she said, and quick as a flash she and M’Benga disappeared down the other passageway. Jim waved at McCoy, who was glaring at him, and his team minus Spock followed him out back into the winding rock towards their shuttle. There was relative quiet for several minutes.

“I’ve never seen Mister Spock like that,” Scotty said in apparent wonder, he’d been careful to wait until they were well out of possible earshot, Jim noted.

“They were wery cute,” Chekov offered, and Rand agreed, and Jim let them all have a minute to be incredulous.

“Alright,” he broke in, and everyone quieted. “No one’s going to make this into a big deal when Spock gets back, that’s an order.”

Uhura looked at him reprovingly. “We didn’t need to be ordered, Captain. Spock’s our friend too.”

She was right, but Jim couldn’t help but feel slightly protective. He inclined his head to her in acknowledgement but let his order stand. 

If Spock was unusually subdued when he caught up with them, no one needed to say anything.

**Author's Note:**

> (Jan 20, 2019) This is now a series! The stories after this will be more obviously set in an alternate universe, mostly in terms of how Starfleet is organized.


End file.
